


Secret Santa

by enchantedsleeper



Category: Superman Returns (2006)
Genre: 12 Days of Clois, Brief depiction of a suicide attempt (not a major character), Christmas, F/M, Fluff, Post-Movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-24
Updated: 2007-12-24
Packaged: 2019-10-24 13:34:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17705213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enchantedsleeper/pseuds/enchantedsleeper
Summary: Post-Superman Returns. For Clark, Christmas is a challenging time of year, thanks to the number of people who suddenly need saving: he hardly has a second he can spend with the now Richardless Lois. And anyway, what's that she's hiding in her desk drawer?Written for the 2007 12 Days of Clois holiday challenge.





	Secret Santa

**Author's Note:**

> My first Superman fanfic, so yay for that! This was written as a challenge response for the wonderful community of 12 Days of Clois. My prompt for this was an image of a man putting up a string of Christmas lights.
> 
> Please heed the tags: this fic contains a description of an attempted suicide in the very first scene. It's not very detailed (or very well-written), but take care of yourselves and scroll past the first eight paragraphs (or to the first divider) if you're not up for reading it.

"Mitch, no! Please, Mitch! Mitchell!"

But her plea fell on deaf ears. His ever-present depression had been thrown into even sharper relief by the festive season, and he'd finally had enough of the torture that was daily life. He'd decided to end it all.

"I'm sorry, Ella," he murmured, even though he knew she couldn't hear him. "But you drove me to this."

He took two steps back, and then broke into a run, hurtling towards the edge of the building. It suddenly felt as if someone else had taken over his legs; he couldn't control them any more, not that he wanted to. They carried him over the edge and then he was free-falling. The wind whipped Ella's desperate screams past his ears as he fell.  _Goodbye, Ella…_

"HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP HIM! HE'S GOING TO DIE!"

Ella was hysterical with fear. She couldn't move, she could hardly breathe, her throat was on fire and black spots were beginning to block her vision. She was hallucinating… she saw a blurred, speeding blue-clad figure intercept Mitch's falling body…  _Wait a minute._

Ella's scream died in her throat and she watched, speechless, as Superman alighted on the ground and laid Mitch's prone body down on it. Then he approached her.

"Miss. Are you all right?" he asked. Ella became aware that a small crowd had gathered, their attention attracted by her screaming. Superman turned to one of the onlookers and asked them to call an ambulance… then Ella's legs gave way as blackness claimed her.

Clark sped away from the scene of the man's near-suicide, after ascertaining that both he and the woman were going to be okay. What was it about Christmas that drove so many people to suicide? That was the fifth jumper he'd caught this week; he didn't even want to think about the number of people who didn't have loved ones to call for help. The number of accidents had also risen dramatically since the winter holidays had begun; he was currently flying towards Toronto in order to help put out a huge restaurant fire that had taken hold, probably caused by carelessness under the influence of alcohol.

"Oh, shit- Hey! Help! Anyone out there? Help!"

Clark automatically singled out the distress call from the hubbub of sounds he was receiving and tried to work out the source. It was coming from somewhere below him. He was flying over Canada, a forest to be exact… Using his X-ray vision, Clark flew lower scanned the area below the trees and saw a figure, desperately dangling from what looked like a ladder. Without even thinking about it, he dove down through the canopy and spotted the man in trouble; he appeared to have fallen from his ladder whilst trying to put up Christmas lights. Just as the man finally lost his grip and began to drop, Clark swooped under him and caught him, then deposited him on the ground – all in one fluid motion.

By the time the man had realised what had happened, Clark was already reaching the scene of the fire in Toronto. He'd wasted precious time performing that manoeuvre, but how could he ignore someone in danger? Clark firmly pushed all nagging doubts out of his mind as he flew down and began finding and ferrying survivors out of the building.

* * *

Lois put her fingers to her temples as her pounding headache resurfaced with a vengeance. Christmas wasn't going well for her this year. She and Richard were currently separated, after he'd finally had enough of both her refusal to set a date for the wedding and her withdrawn attitude towards him of late. She'd just got off the phone to him after having a heated discussion about whom Jason would spend Christmas Day with. Even though Richard was overseas, following up a story about a civil war in God-knew-where, he could still make her life stressful. Evidently, there didn't seem to be any question of them all three spending Christmas together as they had for so many years.

Lois had done her best to make Jason understand the situation between herself and Richard, and outwardly he seemed okay with it, but… he was quieter and more reticent these days than he used to be. He needed a father, one who could be around all the time and who could live a normal life  _with_  them, in the  _same house_. At the moment neither of Jason's 'father options' were capable of doing that.

Lois bit her lip and pulled out the bottom drawer of her desk for the umpteenth time. The small, rectangular wrapped present was still in there, of course: just as it had been all morning. What did she think, that it was going to grow legs and run away or something? Lois rolled her eyes and slammed the drawer shut with just a  _little_  more force than was necessary, making the desk rock slightly. She turned firmly back to her computer and forced herself to focus on the article she was currently writing.

Just then, the lift 'dinged' open and Clark stepped out. Lois looked at her watch and raised her eyebrows. The guy had gone to get a hot dog like an hour ago; how long did one simple purchase take? As he passed by her desk she sniffed and began coughing. Clark was wearing some  _god-awful_ deodorant today – and was that smoke she could smell underneath it?

Suddenly, Clark stopped as if he'd just remembered something, and wheeled around. "Uh, L-Lois, have you got a min-"

 _Wait a second_. Lois did a double take at her watch and re-read the time. "Crap!" she exclaimed, standing up. "Clark, we've got an important staff meeting right now!"

"Wha- have we?" he asked.

"Yes! Don't just stand there dithering, come on!" Lois took Clark by the sleeve and practically pulled him along as she strode towards the lift.

It was like that for the rest of the afternoon. Every time Clark tried to get Lois' attention for a minute so that they could talk, either she suddenly had to rush off, or he had to, to help with another emergency. And at the same time, he wasn't even sure if he  _should_  be trying to say what he had in his mind – or at least, not as Clark.

For what had to be the fiftieth time that day, Clark turned his X-ray vision on the wood of his desk and checked that the two wrapped packages in the middle drawer were still there. Not that anyone was likely to take them, but he was worried about leaving them there every time he had to fly off to save someone, just in case anyone happened upon them.

He turned back to the article he was supposed to be proof-reading, but his mind was elsewhere. Even if he did manage to get Lois alone for more than a second, what could he say?

"Here, Lois, I got you a Christmas present – and one for Jason too. Not like he's my son or anything, but… well, actually he is…" Clark muttered under his breath and grimaced. It seemed too out-of-the-blue for Clark to be giving Jason a Christmas present. And then if he did, what would Superman's gift be?

How about, "Hey, Lois, Superman told me to give these to you… why couldn't he give them to you in person? Well, technically he is, but that's a  _whole_  other story…"

Clark laughed humourlessly and one of his colleagues looked up from some paperwork, raising an eyebrow. He'd rehearsed what he wanted to say countless times and his speech was becoming more ridiculous with every rehearsal. No, he definitely needed to do this as Superman.

* * *

It was wearing on towards evening when Clark landed on the roof of his workplace, fresh from helping with the relief efforts for a minor earthquake in the middle east. Travelling between places with radically different time zones tended to throw his own internal clock out of whack; he hadn't realised it was getting this late in Metropolis. He had no doubt about Lois still being in the building, however. She'd been working increasingly late hours since her separation with Richard, throwing herself into her reporting with a vigour that did the nickname 'Mad Dog Lane' proud. Clark was becoming increasingly worried about her, especially since the onset of the festive season, but true to her nickname Lois was prone to snap at anyone who tried to help, and her bite was  _just_  as bad as her bark.

Clark went to retrieve the two wrapped presents from where he'd hidden them in a convenient niche. Although away from prying eyes, the roof was even more of a precarious hiding-place than his desk drawer for such precious items, and Clark was immensely relieved to find that they were still there. He wondered how long it had been since Lois last came out to get a nicotine fix. He hoped it wouldn't be too long before she appeared; he was beginning to feel very silly, standing on the roof clutching two brightly-wrapped gifts to his chest. As Clark he was used to looking and acting goofy, but as Superman?

Clark was so preoccupied with this that he only registered the sound of someone approaching seconds before they rounded the corner, and happened upon him. He took a step forward, but it wasn't Lois; it was another woman, someone else working late. She froze at the sight of him; her first reaction was wide-eyed astonishment, and then amusement took over, and she suppressed a giggle. "You must be looking for-"

"Lois," Clark cut her off.

"Yeah." A tiny giggle escaped the woman's control. Clark expected her to turn around and go get Lois, but instead she took a step forward. "Come for another  _exclusive interview_?" she insinuated, smirking and eyeing the presents he was holding.

"Some- something like that, yes." Great, now he was stuttering like Clark – the fake Clark. Clark forced himself to stand up straight and look imposing. "Could you go and get her, please?"

"Oh, sure thing," the woman told him, winking and sauntering back the way she'd came. Clark sighed under his breath and waited for Lois to appear.

Lois drummed her fingers on the desk as she stared at her screen. Really, she was procrastinating about returning to an empty house; with Jason staying the night at Richard's, there didn't seem much point in going back. So she was working on a small piece, one which didn't even have to be in until after the holidays. But hey, there was no harm in getting ahead, right?

Plus she was also still holding on to the hope that he might appear. Lois automatically reached for the bottom desk drawer to pull it out, but stopped herself. Honestly, she was being ridiculous; it was becoming a nervous habit, and there was no reason for her to be nervous. None whatsoever.

Lois looked up as the lift opened and a woman she vaguely knew – a Cindy someone – who worked on the floor below, stepped out. Her face was flushed and she was laughing to herself about something, obviously something highly amusing. Lois' eyes narrowed; was she drunk?

"Lois!" exclaimed Cindy, a little out of breath. "You have a visitor – up on the roof." She began giggling again.

Lois started. Up on the roof – that could be only one person. "Thanks," she told Cindy somewhat curtly, rising to her feet and grabbing her bag. She opened the bottom desk drawer and swiftly slid the present into her bag, then strode towards the lift.

When she got up to the roof, Superman was standing with his back to her, gazing out over the city. She could only imagine what he must be hearing. Was he ignoring cries for help in order to come and see her?

Lois took a deep breath. "You wanted to see me?" she asked.

"Yes," Superman replied. He turned around, and Lois' eyebrows rose as she saw what he was holding. Christmas presents – one for her, and one for Jason. She smiled, both touched by the gesture and seeing the humorous side of Superman standing there holding Christmas presents. That must have been what Cindy found so funny. "You're a regular Santa Claus," she told him lightly.

Superman blinked and then laughed himself, a deep baritone chuckle. Lois produced her own present from her bag. "No X-raying it," she told him sternly, as she handed it over and he smoothly transferred his own two into her arms.

"I won't," he promised with the utmost seriousness and Lois nodded. There was a pause, though not an awkward one, and then Superman gestured out over the city.

"There are some beautiful Christmas lights at this time of year," he said. "Will you come with me, and see them?"

Lois wondered if he was intentionally echoing his words to her in this very same spot, all those months ago, after his return to Earth. In answer, she slid off her high-heeled shoes and carefully laid down his presents. He did the same, and she stepped onto his feet, pressing her body against his warm one and grasping his arms to steady herself. They took off without a whisper of sound, and rose so gently that she could hardly tell they were moving. A glance back down at the ground, though, told a different story, and Lois stiffened, dizzy with momentary vertigo. But Superman was there, as solid as always, bringing one arm around her back to let her know that she wasn't going to fall.

They flew higher, and Lois saw that Superman was right: the lights really were spectacular from the sky. Soon they were too far above the ground for her to pick out different areas that she knew, but instead, she admired the pattern formed by the lights, and the different colours: turquoise, amber, emerald… The journalist in her began describing the scene, analysing individual details, speculating about this and that; but Lois deliberately cleared her mind of thought and instead, enjoyed the silence. She laid her head on Superman's shoulder, feeling completely relaxed and stress-free. If only everyone could do this just once over Christmas, the season would be a lot less taxing.

Eventually – and still without saying a word, neither of them wanting to break the spell – Superman began his descent. Lois felt incredibly sad and regretful about returning to the ground; she could practically feel her troubles rising up to greet her. She shut her eyes, and kept them shut as they touched down on the roof. They stayed like that for a moment, as if frozen, until Lois opened her eyes again and stepped backwards.

"You're right. They are beautiful," Lois said, doing her best to gather her thoughts and master her sudden depression. Christmas would be over soon, and she would just have to grit her teeth and fight on until then. "Thank you."

"I can take you up again sometime, in a few days," Superman offered, his magnetic blue gaze steady and reassuring.

"I'd like that," Lois replied. "You know where to find me." She bent down and picked up her bag, slipping her shoes back on and turning to leave.

"Lois!" said Superman suddenly, and she twisted so that she was looking back over her shoulder at him. "Yeah?"

"Merry Christmas," he said, raising a hand. Then he stretched it above his head and rose into the air, her present to him tucked safely under one arm.

After a final round of checking on the Earth's citizens, Clark returned home. Dawn was only a few hours away as he flew in through the window; in many other places across the world, it had already broken.

Clark brought Lois' present out from under his arm and noticed that the gaudy wrapping paper had been torn slightly. A corner of brown leather was poking out from beneath it. Clark knew he should wait until Christmas Day before opening it, but his curiosity was piqued, and he found himself tearing a larger hole in the wrapping paper and sliding out the object inside.

It was a photo album. Clark raised an eyebrow, wondering what kind of photographs he could contain. He opened it, and found Jason's cheerful and chubby baby face gazing back at him from the first page. Clark turned the leaves, spellbound as he watched Jason grow from a tiny baby into a toddler, take his first steps, kick a soccer ball around, and even go up for a ride in his daddy Richard's aeroplane. Right at the very end were the more recent photographs, some of which were taken in the bullpen – probably by Jimmy. Clark laughed out loud at the last photograph, which showed Jason crouching on the floor of their living room, a delighted grin in place as he lifted an entire couch above his head.  _That's my son, all right_.

And he couldn't help but smile, wistfully this time, at the words which Lois had penned in silver ink on the inside back cover of the album: 

 _To be continued_.


End file.
